Community Day Success!

Huge thank you to everyone who attended our Community Day on October the 3rd. We'd love to share a summary of this inspiring day, as well as our next steps, below.

What were we aiming for?

At the start of the day we shared some information about Frome Birth Talk's inception, and its growth. As you can see from the image below, we've come a long way in five years!

The Community Day was an opportunity for us to dream big, and ask the question: where could Frome Birth Talk be in another 5-10 years?

Before our activities began, we shared a work-in-progress version of our proposed vision and mission statements:

Our Vision

To create “a village” of thriving families in Frome.

Our Mission

To create a community that connects and cares for local families through the highs, lows and hidden labour of parenthood. We offer accessible counselling and welcoming groups that harness the power of talking and togetherness to help families thrive.

Our ultimate aim is to create an ambitious 5-10 year plan for Frome Birth Talk, one which dreams big and envisions what the future could hold based on what our community actually needs. This is where your voices are so powerful, and can impact real change.

So what did we do?

Our fantastic facilitators, Clare and Hannah, led us in two key activities to help share our ambitious 5-10 year plan:

Activity 1 - we asked you: what is true about parenting in Frome today? Some of the responses included:

• There is an expectation to be perfect, to 'do it all' and a fear of getting it wrong

• There is a lack of truly family-friendly spaces for parents and children to be themselves, particularly indoors, and free activities for younger children

• Many families are living in Frome without their own family support networks, and feel isolated

• There is no central space for parents to receive advice, support and practical help

• The cost of living and childcare is huge, and has an impact on mental health

• Parenting is undervalued and not seen as productive or worthwhile in society - whilst also being idealised

Activity 2 - we asked you: what would it look like if the opposite were true? Some of the ideas put forward included:

• There would be a free central community hub space for families, where people could meet and children could play, but where parents could also receive ALL the information they need about postnatal support, financial advice, health advice and more

• There would be free antenatal education which focuses on all aspects of parenting as well as pregnancy and birth

• There would be ongoing continuity of care for parents in the community throughout their child's early years

• Society would value the work of parents, and see motherhood as vital and worthwhile

• Childcare and housing would be easily accessible for all

• There would be more groups and opportunities for parents to connect

• There would be more multi-generational spaces and opportunities

• There would be buddy systems or peer-to-peer support available easily for anyone feeling isolated

• Employers would be family-friendly and flexible when employees have a baby

• Parental leave would be supported financially and seen as highly important

What now? Actions & Getting Involved

Some of the dreams and ambitions above are truly aspirational, and these ideas will be weaved into a larger 5-10 year plan for Frome Birth Talk's future.

Some require more time, finances and resources than we currently have available. But many can be achieved in small steps, if we work together as a community.

At every level, we now have some exciting steps we can take to drive Frome Birth Talk into its future.

We understand not everyone has the time or capacity to volunteer on a long-term basis, but there are plenty of ways in which you can get involved with supporting us.

We've put together a to-do list, drawing from our 2024 and 2025 community days, which anyone can get involved with:

• Collection tins - could you take ownership of a collection tin by arranging to have one placed in your local pub, shop or hairdressers?

• Corporate relationships - do you know people in business who are looking for corporate and social responsibility opportunities? Tell them about Frome Birth Talk!

• Social media content - could you attend one of our groups and make a reel for us?

• Community fundraising events - could you run a workshop, host a bake sale or take on a challenge to raise money?

• Connecting with nurseries and schools - are you on the PTFA of your child's school, or work with nurseries who might consider supporting us?

• Connecting with local groups and organisations - could you share information about us with your knitting group, or pilates class?

• Housing associations - do you have connections here? Could a local housing association help us to reach people who need us?

If you could get involved with, or take a lead on, any of the above actions we would love to hear from you. Please email info@fromebirthtalk.org.uk and we can have a chat about how you can help us move things forward!

And if you'd like to get involved with what's next in smaller ways, why not join our Impact Collective WhatsApp Group? This is a group where we share opportunities to get involved with Frome Birth Talk in tiny ways - from re-posting our content on social media, to helping vote for us when it comes to fundraising opportunities.

A Big Thank You

We'd like to say a huge thank you to our facilitators, Clare Hein and Hannah Stopford, who held the space so well for us and kept everything on track.

Thanks also go to Ed Schofield who attended to take some photographs and capture the day.

But most of all, thanks to everyone who attended and shone a light on all the wonderful community spirit we have in this town. We can't wait to see where all your ideas take us.